Toxic Love
by Coli Chibi
Summary: A Kirlia, left by her trainer to die, finds friendship in an unexpected - and sticky - situation. Grimer/Kirlia because they're in the same egg group! XD
1. Chapter 1

"H-Hello...?"

Celadon City was often considered one of the most beautiful cities in Kanto - during the day. At night however, it could be horrifying and overwhelming, especially to a newcomer. Bright lights filled the streets, thousands of neon signs trying to catch the eyes of passerbys, whether they be restaurants, bars, dance clubs, and the like. The bright radiance cast eerie shadows in the alleys and darkened streets, filling the air with an ominous glow. Human beings of all shapes, sizes, races and creeds walked through the streets, walking past one another, usually without a passing glance. Music blared from a wide assortment of clubs, some shady, some less than shady, and some not shady at all.

"Can... Can you please...?"

The air was chill, as it should be in autumn. Frost was collecting at windows, and smoke was in the air. The sky was pitch black, without any stars due to the city's already vibrant radiance. But the radiance was lost upon the alleys, and darker parts of the city. Black shadows, like massive voids that swallowed up any light into their nothingness. They were so dark that even the lowest of humanity and its scum stayed out of them. Who knew what lurked in those alleys after dark?

"Please... Help me?"

Yes, Celadon was both amazing and terrifying - but either way, it tended to be overwhelming. Especially to a Pokemon native to Hoenn. Especially if that Pokemon was a trained Pokemon who wasn't used to cities - or being abandoned.

Standing on the sidewalk, cold, miserable and alone, was one such Pokemon. Her name was Rosaline, Rose for short, a nickname bestowed by her trainer - or her ex-trainer. The Kirlia stood in the midst of human giants, walking by her without much notice. Most of them had never been to Hoenn before, and couldn't recognize a Kirlia on sight. To most, she just seemed to be an odd doll, left behind by some child. Yes, she asked for help - again and again she asked for help. For someone to take her to the Pokemon Center, for someone to tell her where she was - she'd settle at this point for someone just to give her a small, dirty rag she could use for a blanket. But no one paid her any mind. They were too busy with their own lives - and it didn't help that she was speaking in Pokemon, so "Please... Help me..." sounded like a bizarre chirping sound to humans.

A tear trickled down Rose's cheek, but she swiftly wiped it away. The temperatures made it feel like it was freezing. She huddled her arms together and huddled against the large building she was standing by, rubbing her arms and struggling to get herself warm again. Every rub she gave herself hurt - she was covered in unhealed bruises, having been severely beaten. A burn on her chest sent a pang of agony and pain through-out her body as the slightest touch.

The pain was just too much for Rose. She began to cry. Slowly and quietly. She was cold. She was beaten. She was hungry. She was lost. She was scared. She was alone.

Her lower lip quivered. Her mind wandered back to earlier that day, when her life went down the drain. When she was abandoned - left behind forever.

She closed her eyes and began to sob, remembering.

* * *

"Rose! Use Psychic!"

Rose chirped in response as she launched a powerful bolt of mental power. The attack shot towards her foe, a massive Victreebel. The Psychic energy glowed bright violet as it neared her foe.

"Victreebel, dodge it!"

The Victreebel smoothly leaped aside, the attack missing completely.

Rose gritted her teeth unhappily, angered that she had missed - again.

Standing behind the Kirlia was Chelsea - Rose's trainer. A young girl from Hoenn, who had travelled to the Kanto region to compete in the Indigo League. Chelsea hadn't been able to defeat the Hoenn League, nor the Johto League, and had finally decided to try her luck with the Kanto League. She came prepared with her full team - Torcher, her Blaziken and starter, Pad, her Ludiculo, Ripper, her Mightyeena, Slash, her Zangoose, and finally, her Kirlia, Rose. The last member of her group that she had caught. The smallest. The weakest. The runt.

Chelsea kept trying to train Rose, forcing her to her very limits, trying to get her to evolve into her final form Gardevoir, where she would "Actually be useful" to quote Chelsea herself. However, Rose was often beaten - badly. She would sometimes end up in the Pokemon Center beaten within an inch of her life by her foe. She was nearly crushed underneath Norman's Slaking, and Flannery's Torkoal had given her a harsh burn that never quite healed completely. Sometimes her leg still ached where she had been scorched. Rose wassimply not a very good fighter - and her meek and shy personality made it worse. Slash, Chelsea's Zangoose and the only other female member of her team, often would bully Rose for whatever food Chelsea bothered to feed her, and most of the other Pokemon ignored her.

Rose missed her life in the wild. Spending time with wild Ralts and Kirlia, communicating through their natural telepathy, and lounging by the river while eating berries was far better than living as an outcast. Still, she vowed to try harder, and become a better fighter. But she never could. No matter how hard she tried, she lost and lost and lost. Chelsea looked down at her more and more, barely regarding her as a member of her team. Rose was just a burden to her - a chore.

This battle was her last chance. If Rose didn't clean up her act - well, who knows what would happen.

Rose gritted her teeth as the Victreebel landed not five feet from her.

"Shadow Ball!" ordered Chelsea. The blonde trainer looked insanely frustrated, and was glaring fiercely at poor Rose.

Rose held up her hands and charged up an inky ball of shadowy energy, throwing it Victreebel.

Victreebel's trainer was none other than Erika, insomniac heiress and kimono clad gym leader of Celadon City. Despite always appearing to be half asleep, Erika was quite aware of her Pokemon's predicament, and was quick to give an order to save him. "Victreebel," she said in an elegant voice. "Use Vine Whip and deflect the Shadow Ball."

Victreebel gave a hideous shriek, shooting a long green vine and whipping the Shadow Ball aside.

"Now, Vine Whip her Kirlia," Erika said.

"Victreebel gave another shriek, lashing his vines at Rose.

"Rose!" Chelsea shouted. "Dodge it!"

Rose gave a yelp as she leaped aside. But, just as she leaped aside, Victreebel's vine intercepted, lashing at the Kirlia again.

SMACK!

Rose gave a cry of pain, falling to the ground while clutching her arm. A bad bruise had formed on her arm. Before she could move, she was whipped again and again, and again. Every smack of the whip made another bruise, another cut, and drew more blood.

"That's enough, Victreebel!" Erika said. Erika was not a vicious trainer; if her foe was badly wounded, she wouldn't kick them - or whip them - while they were down. Rose felt grateful for that. Now she had the chance to fight back.

She placed her two fingered hands to the ground and pushed herself up, struggling to stand up. She finally managed to get onto her own two feet, and stumbled uneasily towards Victreebel.

It's not over, she thought, determined. It's not over. I can win! I can-!

"Rose!" Chelsea said, angrily. "Return!"

Rose whirled around, horrified. Chelsea had already pulled her Pokeball and opened it, a red beam shooting towards her. She whirled about, hoping to land one single desperate last attack on Victreebel, to prove she had worth. She tried to summon forth her mental powers, but all she got was a bad headache.

She couldn't do it.

The last thing she saw was Victreebel and Erika, both looking very sympathetic for her.

* * *

A flash of scarlet erupted from the Pokeball. Rose appeared on the concrete ground, the Kirlia stumbling forward as her injuries began to ache again. She looked around, confused. This wasn't the Pokemon Center. She gave her trainer a worried look.

Chelsea sighed, looking down at her Pokemon. "Rose... Just... Just go."

Rose gave frightened cry, shaking her head no. Her trainer wanted to abandon her, in the middle of Celadon City. She leaped at her trainer, clinging to her legs, tears streaming down her eyes.

Chelsea gave a growl and kicked Rose off of her leg. "Look!" she snapped. "This isn't working out, okay? I had to use Torcher to beat Erika when you were supposed to be able to do it! But you couldn't! You couldn't help me beat Brock, you couldn't help me beat Misty, you didn't help me beat Surge, and now you didn't beat Erika. Just like you didn't beat anyone in Johto, and just like you didn't beat anyone in Hoenn. We're done. Now beat it!" she shouted.

Rose began to tear up. Her trainer couldn't abandon her here of all places. She didn't know anything about the city. She couldn't see any trees, any water, any shelter that would support her without her trainer, not to mention she was in a region that was altogether unfamiliar to her, and she was badly injured from her fight with Erika's Victreebel already. How could she survive?

She gave her trainer another look, filled with horror and despair, begging her not to leave her here.

Chelsea groaned. "Look!" she said, angrily. "This is your fault, not mine! You could've improved yourself, but you didn't. Now get moving!" she ordered, pointing down the alleyway she had released Rose in.

With that, the blonde trainer turned around and walked away, intent on leaving Rose in the alley.

It took about ten seconds before she turned around again, almost feeling guilty, to catch one last glance at Rose. To her surprise, she seemed to be gone, until she heard a pleading call from beneath her. She looked down to see Rose, staring up at her with wet, big eyes, not two inches from her feet.

"Go away!" shouted Chelsea. She brought her foot back and swiftly kicked the Kirlia, a little harder than she wanted to, and sent poor Rose flying. "Go!" she shouted again. "I'm not your trainer anymore!"

Rose gave a soft sob as she crawled to her feet, the injuries of her battle burning in pain, aided by the kick from Chelsea. But still, she stared at her trainer, whimpering for mercy and acceptance, begging her with her teary eyes not to leave her here in a strange city with no food or shelter.

Chelsea gritted her teeth and looked away. "Stop... Stop it!" she ordered. She pulled out another Pokeball and opened it. Torcher appeared, landing on the pavement. The Blaziken stood straight and battle ready, always ready for a good fight.

Chelsea growled at Rose. "If you don't go right now, I'm gonna have Torcher attack you!" she threatened.

Rose's eyes widened, surprised and horrified. Torcher was equally as shocked. He wanted a good fight; beating on an already beaten and injured Kirlia was... cruel. He looked at his trainer, but there was no such mercy or compassion in her eyes.

"Now go!" Chelsea ordered the Kirlia. "I never want to see you again!"

Rose began to sob loudly. She looked at her trainer with her ruby eyes, filled with tears.

"Please..." she said in the language of Pokemon.

"Torcher, Blaze Kick!" ordered Chelsea.

Torcher hesitated. He never was never very attached to Rose - but he didn't want to hurt her. She looked badly hurt. If he was to hit her, she could end up-

"Do it!" shouted Chelsea.

Torcher sighed. He was a Pokemon, and Chelsea was his trainer. She made his choices for him.

Ignoring the cry of horror that erupted from Rose's mouth, he leaped into the air, fire pulsating down his leg and to his taloned feet. The Blaziken's blazing claws struck Rose, who was too weak to dodge the assault. Rose cried in pain, tears flying from her eyes as she hit the ground, her chest badly burned. But the real pain was inside her. She had been rejected. She had been taken from a home where she was happy, a quaint field in Hoenn - and ultimately was dropped off in the middle of a desolate city alley, after a harsh beating.

Crying softly, she began to crawl away. Her trainer returned Torcher, who felt horrible and guilty, and she turned around, and walked away, leaving Rose behind.

* * *

Rose sobbed softly, the memories of her abandonment still as fresh as her aching wounds. It was past midnight now, but she didn't know it. The sky was darker, and the streets were almost empty.

Something wet and cold splashed against her face. It wasn't a tear, it was a rain drop. Thunder roared in the sky, and lightning flashed. Soon, the rain began to pound the earth with heavy droplets.

Rose growled, her anger and despair bubbling up. "_Oh, come on!"_ she screamed at the sky.

Another raindrop plopped onto her head. It felt like the sky was spitting in her face. She jumped up, regretting it swiftly as he wounds begged for her to sit back down. She couldn't stay in the rain. She needed to find someplace dry.

She stumbled down the road, her entire body in protest as she struggled to find her way to someplace safe. The only problem is she didn't know where. She came to a halt near an alleyway and looked around. Every house seemed either inhabited by a human already, or too dilapidated to stay in. She looked into the alley and caught sight of a pair of trash cans, each one with a lid. They looked dry enough...

Rose shook her head. No. She would not sleep in a trash can. However, there didn't seem to be any other options.

The wind blew harshly, nearly knocking Rose off of her feet. A wet, discarded newspaper slapped into her back, before slipping around her and flying off again. Whenever the wind changed its direction, the rain splashed into her from another direction, completely soaking her to the bone. Shivers ran down her back, and her teeth were chattering like crazy.

_Must find shelter... Must find shelter..._

Rose's legs were screaming in pain and weariness. Her eye-lids were heavy and wanted to shut. The rain stung her face, and her wounds were throbbing. The only good thing about the situation was that the rain was easing the pain of her burnt chest and stomach, but that was about it. She was tired, hungry, cold, lost and miserable. The only thing that kept her going was... well, she didn't quite know.

The wind suddenly picked up in force and knocked her off her feet. She landed face first in a deep puddle. Hacking and spitting the filthy water from her mouth, she struggled to get back up, only to slip on the soaked pavement, bashing her nose on the concrete. Rose whimpered as blood began to trickle from her nose. Just another injury to add to the list.

Finally, she managed to stand again. She slowly began to walk again, each step feeling like her feet were covered in concrete shoes. She walked on, and on, for five minutes - but it seemed like much, much longer.

She reached an intersection in the road. To her left, the road went down a steep hill. Water rushed down the hill like a rampart river, sloshing about angrily. Rose struggled to cross yet another street, tears and rain trickling down her face, wondering why she just couldn't lay down and _die._

She looked up, and blinked. A pair of bright, blinding lights were growing nearer and nearer. Rose's eyes widened, and she leaped aside as the car shot by, spraying a practical tidal wave from a deep puddle as it drove by. The splash knocked Rose flat on her back, landing too close to the hill. She slipped down it, rushing down with the water, screaming as the gravel tore at her back.

She managed to turn herself over, still sliding way too fast down the kamikaze water slide. She whimpered as she caught sight of an empty manhole cover ahead, that water was pouring into like a massive whirlpool. Earlier, work was being done before the rain started, and the workers had forgotten to seal the manhole back up.

Rose screamed as the water carried her to the manhole, swirling about like a cyclone before dumping her into the black hole in the ground. She fell through a void of blackness before...

KER-SPLOOSH!

Rose gagged as she fell into the foul waters below. Sadly, her mouth was open when she had plunged into the sewage, and she got a nice mouthful of who knows what. She swiftly burst her head out from the water, spitting the rancid brew from her mouth, coughing and spluttering.

She reached her hand out of the water, blindly reaching around in the dark, searching for any way out. She managed to grip onto a stone path that ran by the edge of the underground lake. After a few agonizing seconds, Rose hauled herself to the edge of the path and collapsed.

She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She had no tears left. She was tired, weak, and now she felt sick.

Unable to think of anything else to do, she closed her eyes, and remained still, fast asleep by the edge of the rushing sewer water.

* * *

DRIP. DRIP. DRIP.

PLIP. PLOP. PLIP.

It was dawn. Very early in the morning. The sun had barely crept over the skyscrapers of Celadon, or the hills in the distance. The rain had died down, and the grey clouds of the storm still hung in the air, faint but present. Water dripped down from everything, making it seem like it was still raining down on the city.

Little light could creep down into the sewers, but some managed to, a faint, bluish glow from the early morning. It shone down onto the cold face of Rose, still lying in the sewers, fast asleep. Most of her wounds had healed up enough, but many of her cuts were becoming infected, and her chest was still burnt badly.

However, she was not alone. Something oozed down the path that Rose was laying on, drawing closer and closer with curious eyes.

It was an odd creature. It had a pale, purple body, and a pair of simple white eyes. It's body was not of skin and bone, but of slime and ooze. And it was staring at Rose oddly, as it could easily see that she was no piece of garbage, as he had first expected, but a Pokemon.

Interesting...

He examined the Kirlia, seeing how badly hurt she was. She wouldn't survive if he didn't help.

Picking the Kirlia up as gingerly as he could with his slimy arms, the Grimer slid off, Rose in tow.

* * *

"Mngh... Mmm!"

_"Useless! You worthless piece of trash!"_

"No... No...!"

_"No one wants you! No one, do you hear me?!_

"Please... I can do better!"

_"Just get out of my life! Get out of everyone's' lives! No one would miss you!"_

"P-please..."

_"There are a million other Kirlia out there, and they're all better than you!"_

"No... Chelsea..."

_"Weakling!"_

"No...!"

_"Worthless!"_

"No!"

_"I hate you!"_

"_No!_" screamed Rose, shooting up from where she lay. Tears were streaming from her eyes. She looked around, her eyes wide and full of fear. She was still in the sewer. In the pitch black, reeking void. She was lost.

"No one will find me..." Rose sobbed. "No one will _want_ to find me!" She began to cry again, shoving her face into her blanket.

Wait... Blanket?

Rose finally noticed it. A blanket; a dirty woolen blanket had been placed on top of her. She was lying not on hard bricks, but on a worn human mattress. She was still in the sewers, so who could have helped her?

Rose laid back down, confused. She looked at her arms and legs. Someone had bandaged her up, too. Her chest was still burnt, but the pain was subsiding. Rose looked around. She couldn't see or hear anyone. She gave a quick scan with her mental powers, but stopped once her head began to burn in pain. _Still too weak for that..._ she thought.

In the end, it came down to two options. Leave, or stay and sleep.

Her eyes made the decision for her. They slowly shut themselves, and she didn't open them for several hours.

* * *

It was late morning by the time Rose woke up. More light crept down into the sewer, shining onto her face. Her eyes fluttered open, then shut, annoyed by the brightness.

"Ough..." she groaned. "Wha..." She felt her chest. The burn was gone. Her wounds were fading even more. Her head felt a bit clearer, but her legs remained wobbly and her arms still ached. She didn't want to go back to sleep though. She wanted to... to... Well, she wasn't sure about it. She wasn't sure about anything anymore...

She stretched her arms, and tired to stand up. After a few minutes of rising slowly off the ground, she finally managed to stand up. Her legs felt like jelly, and she was famished. She didn't know how long she had been asleep. A day, two days, three days? Who knows?

She stepped forward, and promptly fell flat on her face. She gave a frustrated groan, though she was thankful for the mattress on the ground, which managed to break her fall.

Rose sighed. She couldn't just stay there, could she? She wanted to go but, she also was curious. Who had saved her? She wanted to find out. So, she fell back on the mattress.

A strange scent assaulted her nose. Her hand flew up to cover it. "Ugh..." she groaned. Something reeked down here. Well, she was in a sewer, as homey as it looked, so there was bound to be a scent. But this scent really did reek, and it seemed to be growing stronger.

A noise caught her ears. A wet sliding sound, oozing along a brick ground. Rose looked up, wondering what it could be.

Her eyes widened. Something was coming towards her. A long abandoned sewage pipe lay on the other side of the room, and a purple blob was oozing out of it and into the little home in the sewer. The blob slowly moved through the darkness, closer and closer. Rose could see a pair of eyes staring at her.

She did the only thing she could think of.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE!"


	2. Chapter 2

With a terrified scream, the Kirlia found that strength that only fear could bring out and leaped out of bed, jumping to side. Her eyes flashed violet as she channeled a powerful psychic blast.

The blob stared back at her, surprised. "Huh? Wait-!"

It was too late for waiting. A blast of powerful psychokinetic energy burst from Rose's forehead and sailed right for the sludge pile. However, just as it was about to strike, the sludge pile shrunk down, going from a slime pile to a small puddle of ooze. The attack sailed harmlessly overhead, much to Rose's frustration. Frustration gave way to fear as the slime pile grew back to its normal size, the eyes staring at her angrily. "Is that how you thank the guy who saved yer rear!?" a male voice shouted. A pair of slimy arms emerged from the pile, rolling a clump of slime into a ball, before tossing it at Rose.

Rose leaped to the side, the attack missing her completely. She groaned as she landed, her feet buckling. Her legs still were about as stable as a building made with jello. Still, this was a life-or-death scenario. She gritted her teeth and raised her hand. Lightning sparked at her fingertips as she charged and released a ball of electricity towards her foe in a powerful Shockwave attack. As she suspected, the living ooze shrunk down again to avoid the attack. But the ball of energy exploded right in front of him. The ooze screamed and sizzled as the attack struck his diminished form. With a cry of rage and pain, he grew back to his full size, glaring her as he raised his arms again. Putting his fists together, his hands melted into a massive sledgehammer of gunk. With a roar, he charged forward with surprising speed, swinging the sludge-hammer at the Kirlia.

Rose cried out, ducking underneath the hammer. However, it swung at her again and again, and her legs couldn't keep up. With a sound like a wet sponge splashing against a brick wall, the hammer struck. Rose screamed in pain as the attack sent her flying, until she hit the wall, and fell down back onto the mattress with a pained moan. Her limbs could barely move, and her wounds and burn were aching again, like they were fresh. Moaning and groaning, she stried to get up, only to fall down again.

The ooze creature slid closer to her, his eyes still glaring at her with anger.

"P-Please...!" begged Rose. She couldn't fight anymore. Everything on her body hurt. "Don't kill me!"

The sludge looked down at her, confused. "I don't wanna kill ya!" he snapped. "I saved yer life, and you attacked me!"

Rose blinked. "What... What do you mean? This place..."

"Is _my_ place!" the sludge finished for her. "I live here!"

Rose swallowed. "Wh-who are you...?" she demanded, trying to seem like she could still be a threat.

"The name's Doku," the sludge answered. "I'm a Grimer."

"A what?"

"A Grimer. I'm a Pokemon," Doku said. "Who're you?"

"I'm... I'm Rose," Rose answered. "And I'm a-"

"A Kirlia, I know," Doku interrupted.

Rose blinked. "You... You know what I am?" Could there be other Kirlia nearby? She hoped so; spending time with her own kind would cheer her up. Maybe they'd have food.

"Yeah, 'course I do," Doku said. "Saw one of you on TV."

Rose looked up. "You have a TV?" she asked, looking around as if she expected a television to just pop out of the wall or floor from some secret panel. She hadn't noticed how much she missed TV before. Watching Pokemon Contests had always been a delight of her's.

"No, 'course not!" Doku said, giving a bubbly laugh. "One o' the humans who lives 'bove ground has one! I watch it from the window sometimes."

"Oh." Rose felt oddly dissapointed; perhaps a TV could have made her feel better. She enjoyed the Pokemon grooming channel a lot. "Thank you for saving me, Doku..." she said. "I'm sorry that I... you know..."

"Well, ya should be," Doku said, folding his... eh, arms. "I go to all the trouble of savin' yer hide, and you thank me by throwin' your psychokinetic whatchamacallits at me!"

"I said I was sorry..." muttered Rose.

"...Fine, apology accepted..." the Grimer said.

Rose slowly struggled to her feet. "I should get going..." she grumbled.

"What, lookin' like that?" Doku asked. "You crazy?"

"I'm fine!" Rose protested. She stood at her full height. "See?"

Mere seconds later, she fell down, unable to keep herself standing. The Kirlia gave a frustrated shout and banged her fists on the ground. "Dang it!" she shouted.

Doku tried not to laugh. "Well... Eheheh... Why don't you just sit down and let me getcha somethin' to eat?"

Rose looked up, startled. The Grimer was, well, grimy. Somehow, she didn't have high hopes of him bringing her anything that was healthy. "N-no thanks..." she said. "I'm fine." Her stomach groaned in protest, having not been fed in a day, but she ignored it.

"Oh, sure, go ahead!" Doku said. "Have fun out there. Heard it was gonna rain again, though."

Rose sighed mentally. Oh, of course it is... she thought angrily. She eyed Doku suspiciously.

Doku caught it quickly. "What?" he demanded.

"I don't trust you," Rose said before she could stop herself. Insulting the creature that had just cleaned her clock was not particularly wise.

"Wha-?! Why not?!" Doku demanded.

"Well... Why did you save me, and bring me here?!" Rose demanded. "You could want to eat me... or something!"

"Eat you...?" Doku stared, and then began to laugh. "Why the heck would I eat you? We Grimer don't eat meat - well, fresh meat, anyway..." He coughed awkwardly. "Besides, why would I save you if I was just gonna eat you?"

Rose opened her mouth, and then closed it, not having an answer. "Uh... I..." She forced herself to stand up. "Uh, I still need to go."

"What's the rush?" Doku asked.

Rose began to stumble away. "I... I need to, uh... Well... Uh..."

"What is it?" Doku demanded.

Rose sighed. No point in lying. "It's just, well... You smell. I mean, really, really bad."

Doku rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah, well, gee, I'm sorry that I live in the flippin' sewer!" he retorted.

"Well, it's true," Rose said. "It's... it's making me a bit queezy." She gave him a polite curtsy, as not to seem rude. It didn't work. The Grimer looked very offended.

"Well, if you don't like it," he grumbled, "then go ahead and leave!"

"I said thank you," Rose complained. "What more do you want?!"

The Grimer gave a slimy shrug. "Mmm... not as sincere as I would've liked it..."

Rose groaned. "You must be joking!"

Doku raised his hands in defense. "Fine, fine," he said. "Now, stay in bed. You're still lookin' horrible."

Rose grumbled. "I'm fine," she insisted. "Thank you for the hospitality, but I'll be on my way now."

Doku sighed. "Fine," he said, "go ahead. But first things first - I have a question for you."

Rose froze, and slowly prepared a small Shockwave, just in case the Grimer pulled anything. She didn't trust the Poison-type, even though he had saved her life. At this point, she wasn't sure if she trusted anyone at all. "What is it?" she asked.

"Nothin' much..." Doku said, trying to seem casual. "Just wonderin' like a gal like you is doin' in a place like this."

Rose growled. "It's none of your business," she snapped.

"...Fine, fine," Doku said. "None of my business... Have fun out there, I guess. Just stay out of trouble."

Rose growled and muttered to herself. "F-fine! I will! Don't wait up!" she ordered, crawling into the pipe that Doku had entered from.

"I don't need you to tell me what to do!" Rose snapped. She had had enough of anyone telling her what to do. No human, no Pokemon was ever going to tell her what to do _ever_ again. From now on, she was an independant Kirlia. She was calling the shots from now on.

"Fine, fine..." mumbled Doku. "Do what you wanna do."

Rose nodded. "I will, thank you," she snapped. She had had enough of smart-alek blobs of goop for one day. She climbed into the smell pipe and began to crawl away, heading towards what she hoped would be the entrance to the sewer.

"Hey!" the Grimer shouted.

Rose groaned. "What?!" she shouted back.

"The entrance, would be-a that way." The Grimer forked an appendage over his shoulder down into a seperate pipe at the other end of the room.

Rose blinked, her face flushing. "I... I knew that."

"Sure you did..."

"Shut up!"

Without another word to the Grimer, Rose stomped out of the sewers.

And so began her life as an independant Kirlia!


	3. Chapter 3

Turns out, being an independent Kirlia sucked.

Rose gagged unhappily as she peeked her head into yet another trash can. There was_ something_ at the bottom that looked like it_ had_ been food - but it sure didn't look edible now. Sighing with frustration, Rose climbed down from the trash can, rubbing her stomach hungrily.

It was almost afternoon, and the weather was taking another turn for the worse. Gone was the sun and the blue sky. Now, storm clouds were brewing once more, and the wind blew roughly, ruffling Rose's green hair. She shivered as she saw a flash in the distance. Lightning.

She needed to find some shelter.

The wind blew harshly as she wandered deeper into the alley, chilling her bones and blowing her hair about wildly. She felt as if she had gone back in time - back to when her trainer first abandoned her. Here she was again, wandering the streets of Celadon City, cold, hungry, and alone.

For some reason, going back to the Grimer was starting to seem like a better option than this...

Rose shook her head. "No, no," she muttered. "Not gonna happen, Rosie, so don't even think about it. You hate the sewers, anyways... They smell like... poo gas."

A car drove by, showering Rose with water and muck as it shot past. Rose groaned unhappily as she found herself half-frozen again. That was all she could take; that was the last straw.

Rose's legs trembled and then collapsed. She fell to the ground, crying and bawling, pounding her tiny fists on the soaked concrete as she cursed her own arrogance and idiocy. The sewer stank but at least it was warm. Whatever that Grimer had tried to feed her was probably bad but at least it was better than that rancid goop in the trashcan. Every gust of wind, every drop of rain, seemed to be screaming about her bottomless stupidity, about her uselessness. And, once again, Rose found herself wishing that her trainer, nasty, insulting, horrible person that she was, hadn't abandoned her. Better shouted and screamed at than freezing to death, from where Rose stood.

The thunder rumbled, and lighting flashed, almost scaring Rose clear out of her skin. Shelter. She had to find shelter - warm shelter. A cardboard box, a wooden crate, underneath some bridge, an oil drum... anything.

As the fireworks of electricity filled the air again, Rose saw her shelter, wincing as she did so. Next to a small human apartment building was a large, plastic trash bin. Rose winced as she looked over the can. Well, it didn't smell too bad...

"Just for one, night, Rosie, just one night," she promised herself.

She slowly climbed onto the blue container and pulled off the lid. There was only one trash bag inside of it, and nothing inside of it smelled perishable. Shaking her head and wondering what her world had come to, she climbed into the trash can, and pulled the lid over it.

Rain pattered against the plastic roof, but Rose, for the first time all evening, was relatively content. A trashcan was beneath her, yes, but it was warmer than it was out there, and this bag was decently soft. Maybe this would be so...

The lid of the bin opened up and a large bag, laden with soda and beer cans, plastic food containers, and a broken two-by-four from a failed attempt to make a picture frame, came crashing down onto the poor Kirlia. The lid of the bin was slammed shut, leaving Rose in the darkness, with a ten pound pile of trash lying on top of her.

Rose whimpered, and went to sleep.

* * *

Morning came to Celadon City, and the storm mercifully ended. The air was crisp and clear, filled with a misty scent that left you with a lust for life and an optimistic outlook on the day. A rainbow hung in the air, shining against the grey-blue sky.

Doku took a deep with of the fresh air and let out a happy sigh, not questioning how someone without visible nostrils could smell anything. As far as the Grimer was concerned, it was going to be a good day. All he needed to get a good start was a good breakfast.

The Grimer slid out from the sewer drain and out to the sidewalk, sliding down the walk as he did everyday. Most humans weren't up yet, as it was still relatively early, the streets were mostly empty, though an occasional human being did pass by Doku. They didn't bother him, though - he simply grinned and gave the human a wave or a salute, earning either a humored smile or an odd look in return.

"Oi! Doku!"

A purple Pokemon floated across the street, greenish smoke rising from his limbless, round body as he hovered over to his fellow Poison-type. "G'morning!" the Koffing called, giving the usual Koffing grin.

Doku returned with a grin of his own. "G'morning, Sumoggu," he greeted. "Looks to be a good day today, eh?"

Sumoggu grinned as he floated beside his friend. "Sure does," he agreed. "A beautiful day filled with beautiful opportunity. And what more beautiful way to start than with a beautiful breakfast?"

Doku laughed and nodded. "Let's get a move on, then! It's trash day, and we need to beat the trucks!"

With that, the two friends slid and hovered over to their favorite alleyway - or, as they liked to call it, their favorite buffet.

* * *

When the two Poison-types arrived, sure enough, there it was: their favorite trash can, sitting by the side of the human apartment building. A deliciously rancid reek was wafting out from the bin: cold week old pizza, take-out leftovers, half-finished cans of cola and beer... A feast! It was times like this when Doku felt obliged to mankind for their senseless waste of their resources: they had been keeping his kind fed for _years._

Sumuggo took a deep wiff, his smile growing. "Mmm..." he sighed, licking his chops. "That smell..."

"It's gonna be a good day," Doku chuckled with a nod. "A good, good day." He grabbed the lid to the bin and pulled if off. "Let's hurry and do our shopping before the landlady starts tossing stuff at us again."

Sumuggo shuddered. "Don't remind me..." he whispered.

Doku spat a small blob of acid onto the bag, melting the plastic away like butter on a hot stove, and leaving a gaping hole in the bag. A half-finished box of fried race was what caught his eyes first. He grabbed it with a blobby appendage and tossed it, box and all, into his mouth. He reached inside again, pulled out a box of egg chow mein, and tossed it over his shoulder, allowing Sumuggo to catch it in his mouth. The Poison Gas Pokemon happily chewed away, enjoying the day old rice noodles.

This was their tradition, of course. It was hard to survive in Celadon City alone, and having a friend made everything better. The two had been together for as long as they could remember, and they spent a good deal of time together. Sure, they had their occasional argument, but in the end their bond brought them back together.

This was a personal tradition of the two Poison-types: breakfast on trash day, when the bins were full and the pickings ripe. They met for a breakfast together, and talked about how things had been as of late. They talked about the weather, troubles with wild Pokemon, those silly humans, and whatever else seemed worthy of a conversation.

And Rose was certainly worthy of conversation - though not a particularly nice one.

"I'm tellin' ya," Doku said, in-between bites of a piece of cold pizza. "She had to be the rudest so-and-so I ever met."

Sumuggo laughed. "The rudest?" he chuckled. "I dunno, Doku, we've met some rude shmucks before."

"She was the rudest," Doku insisted, pulling out a carton of expired orange juice. "Thirsty?" he offered, holding up the carton.

Sumuggo grabbed the carton with his mouth and swallowed it all, licking his chops afterwards. "Really? She was the rudest?"

"Really," Doku insisted. "I save her life and she has the nerve to attack me and then insult me!"

"Awww, she's a Psychic-type, Doku," Sumoggu snickered. "They're all like that. All high and mighty because they can move things a little bit with their minds."

Doku nodded in agreement. "Yeah..." he said. "Bunch of weirdos"

"You know it."

Doku gave a blobby shrug, his slimy body jiggling as he did so. "Wonder where she is, now?" he muttered. "Probably got taken to the pound already."

"Wonder what her high n' might attitude will get there, eh?" Sumuggo asked.

Doku pulled out a package of cookies and tossed it into Sumuggo's mouth. "Who knows?" he asked with a laugh. "Can't imagine she'll be too popular!" He reached into the trash bag again, only to find that there was no food left inside of it. "Crud! Empty," he muttered, grabbing the bag and tossing it over his shoulder. "Anyways, any news from you?"

Sumuggo tried to shrug, but forgot that he didn't have arms. So, he just puffed up his body and let out a little gas. "Well, the Meowth and Persian are gettin' antsy again with all the Growlithe on the streets nowadays. Heard that they may start somethin'."

Doku nodded. "That's bad," he said, reaching absentmindedly into the trashcan, his hand coming down on a familiar head of green hair.

Sumuggo nodded (somehow). "It is," he agreed. "You think they'll duke it out again?"

"Not if they don't want the humans to get involved," Doku hypothesized, grabbing whatever his hand had landed on and shoving it into his mouth, without really paying attention to what it was.

"What are you eating?" Sumuggo asked, confused.

Doku blinked, sliding his greasy tongue over whatever was in his mouth. It tasted... eh... nice... but he could tell it was food. It knew it wasn't food either, and began banging its tiny fists on his body. Doku's eyes grew to the size of saucers as he realized he had been eating something alive.

He opened his mouth and spat it out, and Rose the Kirlia, covered in trash, layers of saliva and grease, and whatever Doku had been eating, collapsed to the ground in a slime-covered mess.

The Kirlia and the Grimer stared at one another, both recognizing each other, and both flaring up with anger. "YOU!" they shouted in perfect unison.

And then Rose regurgitated whatever the last thing she ate was all over the ground.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, fun fact for this chapter! Ever wonder the story behind Doku and Sumuggo's names? No? Well, too bad, you're hearing about it, anyways.**

**Doku is the Japanese word for poison, and Sumuggo is the Japanese word for Smog. I was looking up good names for the Pokemon and I decided to go with the Japanese words. And yet somehow our heroine ended up named Rose... I wonder what the Japanese word for Psychic is... or Empath... **

**Huh...**

**Knock knock! Who's there? Hopefully some reviews from you guys! ;D**


	4. Chapter 4

After Rose was done throwing up all over the ground, she glared at Doku. "You!" she said again, wiping bile from the side of her mouth. "I - I was right! You did want to eat me! I knew it! I just knew it!"

"No I didn't!" Doku shot back, wiping his blobby tongue against the roof of his mouth to try and wash out the Kirlia's taste. "What're ya doing inside of my trash can!?" he demanded, changing the subject.

"It's not _your_ trash can!" Rose retorted. "It belongs to the humans!"

"Okay, fine," Doku grumbled. "So, what are you doing in the _humans'_ trash can?!"

"I don't need your permission to go anywhere!" Rose snorted, folding her arms. "Now go away! I want to finish my sleep in peace and comfort."

"You can't tell me where to go!" Doku snapped back.

Sumuggo sweatdropped. "This is...?"

"Yeah, this is here," Doku grunted. "What did I tell ya? Rudest broad ya ever met!"

Sumuggo winced. You're not much better... he thought.

"B-broad... Broad?!" Rose felt a surge of anger rush through her body, more powerful than any of the fatigue and hunger that she felt. Her eyes flashed bright violet, and she raised her hands into the air. "Let me show you..." she snarled in an almost demonic voice, frightening the two Poison-types, "just what happens to the jerks that call me a broad!" She roared angrily as she raised her hands, psychic power flowing from her fingertips.

Doku and Sumuggo squealed in surprise and horror, jumping... er... sliding and floating back and looking around frantically, searching for a sign of what the Kirlia was going. It took them a moment before they sat just what Rose was levitating. Pebbles.

Three pebbles, which had been previously sitting harmlessly on the ground, slowly were floating in the air. The two Poison-types stared at the pebbles, then stared at the Kirlia. Rose followed their gaze, realizing her powers were barely capable of lifting up tiny, insignificant little pieces of rock. The Psychic-type gave a depressed gasp as her powers faded into nothing. The pebbles plopped harmlessly to the ground.

"Dang it!" Rose shouted, rubbing her throbbing head.

Sumuggo couldn't help it; he broke out into hysterical laughter. "Oh, man!" he cried in-between laughs. "She's a real spitfire! Hahaha!"

"S-spitfire?!" Doku exclaimed, shocked.

"Spitfire!?" Rose shouted. "Why, I've never... I mean... What does 'spitfire' mean?"

"It means yer a fiery dame!" Sumuggo explained with a grin. "It's a compliment."

"Oh." Rose smoothed out her dress, glad that _someone_ in this accursed city had some manners. "Naturally."

Doku cast a glare at his friend. "She ain't a spitfire," he muttered.

"What would you call her, then?"

"A rude little shmuck, that's what!" Doku declared, turning his glare to Rose.

Rose stuck out her tongue. "At least I don't go around eating other Pokemon!" she snorted.

"I wasn't trying to eat you!" Doku insisted.

"Were so!" Rose accused.

"Were not!" Doku shot back.

Sumuggo rolled his eyes. "Doku, lady - you're not kids, y'know. Act yer age!"

Doku scowled. "F-fine. Let's go, Sumo. We've got... eh... stuff to do."

"What stuff?" Sumuggo asked, blinking.

"I don't know, stuff!" Doku exclaimed. "Let's go!"

Sumuggo sighed. "Aww, Doku, don't be like that. I mean, look at her!"

"I'd rather not," Doku muttered.

"Y-you're not a sight for sore eyes either, bub!" Rose hissed.

"Ya see that?!" Sumuggo exclaimed. "She just called you 'bub'. Nobody from Celadon says bub anymore! She's totally out of her element!"

"So?" Doku shrugged indifferently.

"So, she'll get herself killed!" Sumuggo exclaimed.

"I will not!" Rose huffed, offended. "I've handled myself just fine so far!"

"Says the broad who was just sleeping in the trash can," Doku snidely grunted.

"Better that than sleeping in the sewers!" Rose snorted back.

Sumuggo sweatdropped again. _They're actin' like a mated couple..._ he thought to himself. "Eh, guys..."

Before Sumuggo could finish, a wooden broom sailed down from the air and smashed against his head... er, body, sending him flying across the alleyway and slamming down into the pavement. Doku gave squeak as the broom came down onto him, too, a trail of his slime trailing from the broom to the Grimer as it retracted, and then slammed down onto him again.

"Get out of here!"

Doku didn't have to be told twice, swiftly sliding away from his enraged attack. "Sumuggo, man, let's go!"

Sumuggo leaped (somehow) off of the ground and followed his retreating friend. "What about what's-her-face?!"

"She can handle herself!" Doku shouted, leaping behind a nearby dumpster and hiding.

Said what's-her-face who could handle herself had promptly fallen to the ground, almost in a dead faint. She motionlessly stared up at the attacker: a human female who looked to be a young adult, with blonde hair and wearing a pink dress. She gave an unhappy grunt as she watched the two Poison-types retreat. "Lousy scavengers..." she muttered, looking over to her fallen trash can and its spilled contents. Her eyes swiftly caught sight of the terrified Rose. "What the..."

Rose was at a loss for action. She couldn't run, she couldn't attack... Maybe she could play dead... Yeah, that would work. The Kirlia put on her blankest, deadest expression onto her face, stopped breathing, and stared up at the woman with unblinking eyes.

The woman cocked her head to the side and slowly picked up the motionless Psychic-type. "Huh..." she muttered to herself.

Rose almost swallowed, but stopped herself. _Must play dead, must be play dead..._ she thought. Doku and Sumuggo peered out from behind the dumpster, eyes wide as they awaited the Kirlia's fate.

"Now..." the human began. "Why would anyone throw out a doll like this? It's still in good condition! I wonder if it has a voice-box..."

The woman gave Rose's torso and firm squeeze. Rose almost felt like her guts were going to be squeezed out of her throat and through her mouth. She gave a tiny "Stop!" However, the human heard "Kir!"

"Kir...?" The woman cocked her head to the side. "Kir... Oh, cur! She's calling someone a cur!"

Doku and Sumuggo sweatdropped in unison.

"What kind of doll calls someone a cur...?" the woman muttered to herself thoughtfully. "Cur is an insult! A doll that insults you...?" She shook her head. "Kids these days... Who even says cur anymore?" Rolling her eyes, she dumped Rose unceremoniously back into the trash can, and shoved the lid back on. "Back into the trash where you belong," the woman grunted, before dragging the trash can to the side of the road and dropping it on the curb. She retrieved her broom and walked back inside.

The lid to the trash can shook and slowly popped off. Rose climbed out with a dejected look on her face. The trash can... where she _belonged_.

Rose was tired, hungry, thirsty, sickly, and _done_. She was exhausted with everything. When she was just a Ralts, she had never expected her life to be this miserable. Her trainer had abandoned her, she was lost in a city she knew nothing about, and she was just done.

The sky gave a rumble. Another storm was coming. Rose didn't care. The rain began to pour down from the sky, soaking the Kirlia who sat indifferently at the side of the road, wondering whether or not life was worth a dang or not.

* * *

"Admit it, man."

Doku blinked, shook his head, and looked over to his friend. "What?" he asked.

The two Poison-types were still sitting behind the dumpster, having narrowly escaped the wrath of the land-lady, and had witnessed her disposal of Rose. Now, the somber-looking Kirlia was sitting quietly on the side of the street, motionless as the rain pounded her body.

Doku hated the Kirlia - he really did. Really. She was ungrateful, rude, snobbish... But now... Doku felt something deep down in his slimy body. A sense of... oh, he had to admit it to himself. He felt sorry for her. She was out of her element, and she was alone - and Doku knew what that was like. He had been alone a lot, too. Grimer weren't the most popular Pokemon in the world. They were falsely believed by most humans to be responsible for pollution (to be frank, they really ought to stop pinning the blame on Pokemon and just toss their trash in the trash cans instead of on the side of the road) despite the fact that they in fact cleaned up pollution, along with Koffing. Despite that, Grimer didn't have the sheer, unstoppable force of a Machamp or an Alakazaam, or the cuteness factor of a Jigglypuff or a Vulpix. They were just blobs of goop that lived, and very few trainers brought them to the Pokemon League.

Sumuggo looked over his friend, his normally jovial expression quite serious. "Man, go to her. Cheer her up. You may not like it, but you're the only friend she has right now."

Doku sighed. Sumuggo was right. He slowly slid down the alleyway by himself, Sumuggo watching him with an expressionless face as he went. The Grimer slowly approached the downcast Kirlia - until a slightly mangled umbrella, sticking out from a trash can, caught his eye...

* * *

Rose had come to a conclusion: she had nothing worth living for.

No trainer, no way to get back to Hoenn, no way to see her long-lost family again, no way to get out of this stupid city, no food, no drinking water, no _nothing_. She had _nothing._ There was no real reason for her to go on with life.

Her survival instincts were at an all time low. Her will was shot, and her despair was gnawing at her soul. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a car coming down the street.

If she jumped in front of that car...

Rose blinked as she realized that the rain was no longer pounding against her head. She looked up to see a rather ruined-looking black umbrella, shielding her soaked body from the water, being held up by a grimy hand.

Doku was there, holding that umbrella over her head. He was staring down at her, a look that was a cross between sheepishness and concern written on his slimy face.

Rose's eyes went wide and became watery. Trembling, she slowly wrapped her arms around the Grimer and buried her head into his blobby shoulder. Doku blinked, surprised by the sudden show of affection, but returned the hug with his free hand.

It would have appeared to be a strange sight for anyone who passed them by. A Grimer and strange Pokemon, not native to Kanto, hugging one another in the rain. However, in that moment, neither of them cared - and neither of them would ever care about what anyone else would think.

Rose had found a friend - a real friend. They had their differences, yes, and they had their arguments - and they would have more arguments in later years - but it didn't matter to them. Friends are bound to argue once and a while - but that couldn't always keep them apart. Nothing could, anymore.

From his place in the alley, Sumuggo grinned. "You're a good blob, Doku."


	5. Chapter 5

In the next few years, things changed drastically in the lives of the Grimer and the Kirlia.

Doku slid out from behind the alley-way's dumpster, silently sludging about in the night. It was late, and few humans were out at the time, but it didn't hurt to not take chances. After making sure that no one was watching him, he made his way towards his target.

Located in downtown Celadon City was the Rainbow Pizza Parlor, a small restaurant that sold pizza at reasonable prices. Well... Pizza was a bit generous of a description in regards to what they sold there. Rainbow Pizza pizzas were essentially semi-solid chunks of carbohydrates and calories. And by semi-solid, I mean: if you try to pull off a piece of pizza, chances are the cheese will remain stuck to the rest of it while you pull the crust out from underneath it. To make matters worse, they were practically saturated in grease before they were sold, and any condiments that were placed on top of it soaked up the grease like a sponge. Why and how the place stayed in business is beyond me.

Doku slid up the wall of the pizza parlor. As usual, the owner had left the window partially open (as he was too cheap for air conditioning). The opening wasn't too large, but for a creature who was mostly liquid it was a piece of cake.

Doku easily squeezed through the opening and into the dark kitchen. As usual, the place was closed - and, as usual, the cook had left several pizzas, in their boxes, on the counter, saving them for whatever poor soul was stupid enough to call them and order a pizza. Once again, I'd like to stress that I have no idea how this place stayed open. Doku grinned as he leaped down from the window, made his way to the counter, and picked up the pizzas. Sure, you could call it stealing, but, hey, he was keeping these day old (or possibly older) pizzas from being ingested by and poisoning innocent civilians. He was doing a public service, really.

Just like he had done so many times before now, he peeked inside the pizzas, made sure to pick one that was more or less slightly less greasy than all the others, and put it in a pile with the regular greasy ones. Then, with a silly grin, he pushed the boxes through the window, slid out with them, and quickly made his way home.

He had hungry mouths to feed.

* * *

Rose happily reclined in her large bean bag (liberated from the Celadon City junkyard) gently pulling a blanket over her weary body and giving a yawn. Finally. Finally after the long, agonizing process, she was done. Time for a little rest and relaxation... She closed her eyes, got comfortable, and

"Waah... WAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"WAAAAAAAAAH!"

Rose's eyes shot open. "Again...?" she moaned weakly, hopping off of her bean bag and making her way to the cardboard box on the side of the cave.

A lot had changed since that day, two years ago. She and Doku were still living in the sewers, but they had moved further down the system, to the very end, where the sewer let out into a small river in the middle of a large forest. Though the sewer pipe drained the filthy water into the river, Doku had set to work the moment that he arrived in the neighborhood, devouring the majority of the filth with the help of Sumuggo. The local Pokemon greatly appreciated Doku's odd yet very beneficial choice in his diet, and gladly welcomed the two into the forest without much of a scene. Sure, it was a bit of a jog to get back into Celadon City, but, hey, that was no place to raise a kid - or two.

Yeah, you heard right. Kids.

Rose sighed as she picked up the two screaming Ralts, cradling them as best as she could in her tiny arms. Every time she seemed to have them calmed down, they started crying again. The Kirlia had found a new sense of respect for her own matter, wherever she might be: if she had to put up with this when Rose was a baby, she was a real hero. Then again, Rose had been fortunate enough to have twins.

"Shh, shh, shh..." she whispered to her Ralts twins, rubbing their backs as they whined unhappily. "Calm down..." she half-begged, really hoping that they would. She sent a few telepathic messages of calmness and kindness, as the Ralts line was prone to do. Mercifully, the Ralts calmed down, rubbing their eyes and going silent, staring up at their mother with their eyes wide, wondering when dinner was going to arrive.

They were both girls, mercifully. If one of them had been a boy, he would have had a tough upbringing - yes, yes, there was a male-only evolution of Ralts, but Rose had no idea how to access it. Girls could probably live with being such a feminine-looking species.

The older one (who hatched first) was named Lily (because Rose just liked flowers, and couldn't think of a better name), and the younger one was named Murasaki (after Doku's own mother). Telling them apart was a bit difficult, but it was made a bit easier by the fact that Lily had pure black irises like Doku's and Murasaki had red ones like her mother - also, Lily was an inch or so taller than her sister. Neither could speak yet, but both were very loud when they were unhappy - just like both of their parents, I suppose.

Parents... Rose chuckled to herself as she settled down again, both of the babies playing with her hair. She hadn't really ever planned on taking a mate - much less a mate like Doku. To be honest, it wasn't his looks (obviously) nor was it his smell (though it wasn't so bad when you got used to it) but his personality. Yes, he was rough around the metaphorical edges (very rough at times) and he was temperamental (then again, so was Rose) but... Well... It was hard for Rose to put into words.

It was that one moment where he actually held out his hand for hers, maybe. That moment where he had shown her more kindness than anyone else had in her entire life, just holding an umbrella over her head, that little ray of sunshine that destroyed the darkness that clouded her heart, that was when she finally realized that she had a friend.

It just sort of developed from there.

A familiar humming sound began to echo through the tunnels, signalling the return of the man of the family. The Kirlia and her Ralts looked to the entrance of their cave. Doku slid in, waving happily with one hand and balancing a leaning tower of pizzas with the other one. "Heya!" he greeted.

"Dah!" Lily shouted.

"Deey!" Murasaki cried happily.

"You took your time," Rose observed with pseudo-snideness as the babies crawled from her arms and over to their father. Neither of them were bothered by Doku's stench - must have had something to do with the genetic make-up.

Doku scooped up the two with his free arm. "Well," he said, "excuse me for gettin' dinner, tootsie pop."

"Rainbow Pizza?" Rose chuckled, hopping off of her bean bag. "You know that stuff is practically toxic, right?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I _am_ toxic," Doku said, putting his adoring daughters on the ground and popping open the first pizza box. "Here ya go, girls, eat up!"

"Pizzzah!" both Ralts cheered, eagerly sinking their freshly developed teeth into the least greasy pizza.

Rose wrapped her arms around her husbands... er... neck. "How was it out there?" she asked, knowing that it had been a while since he had gone to Celadon."

"Not bad," Doku said. "It's gettin' colder, though," he said; the only reason he had gone for pizza was because it was getting harder to find food for the non-sludge eaters in the little family. Winter was starting to grip the Kanto Region, and while it never got as cold as it did in Sinnoh or Unova, it did get cold enough to chill most of the fruit bearing trees to the point of barrenness. As such, it drove Doku into stealin... Ahem. _Removing_ hazardous pizzas from the hands of the easily queasy humans and into the hands of family, who had a much higher tolerance to such a meal.

Not that Rose really minded - the pizza was half-rancid, yes, but starving was worse. She had learned that the hard way. Besides, Doku did pick out the least greasy one for her and the kids - which both Lily and Murasaki were currently hiding underneath.

Rose groaned. "Girls!" she scolded, picking up the sauce-covered duo up. "Look at you two..."

"Maah!" Murasaki cooed.

"Muuh!" Lily giggled.

Rose groaned. "I'm going to give them a bath," she lamented. "Again."

Doku chuckled. "Let me do it," he offered.

Rose raised an eyebrow, and Doku remembered that he was a Grimer. "Oh. Right. Carry on."

Rose walked off with her daughters, leaving Doku to hop onto the bean bag with a box of pizza in his hands. "Home sweet home," he said aloud.

* * *

Somehow, the two finally managed to put the babies to sleep. It seemed almost magical, the silence that filled the tiny cave, broken only by the quiet, almost ghostly howl of the wind that drifted outside.

Rose joined Doku on the bean bag that they shared. It still felt weird, sleeping so close to him. Not as weird as before, but still...

Doku yawned. "Better get some sleep," he advised. "Big day tomorrow."

Rose pulled the blanket over her body. "No bigger than usual."

"Well, here's the thing," Doku said. "I asked Sumuggo to watch the kiddos tomorrow. I thought we could... you know..."

"What?"

"Go on a walk or somethin'..."

Rose smiled. "I'd like that," she said. She could use a break.

"Good, good." Doku pulled on some more of the blanket onto him. "I love kids," he said.

"Me too..."

"Wanna have some more?"

*Bonk!*

"Oww! What was that for?!"

Rose grinned. "Love you, too, Doku."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**And so it ends: the story of a emphatic ballerina falling in love with a pile of sapient slime, named after a Tim Curry song from a movie I don't even like. Weird, isn't it?**

**Well, I hope you liked it! I might do some follow-ups and sequels if I get enough requests, so be sure to toss a review my way!**

**Doku and Rose: "Review, everyone!"**

**...Oh, and on a side note, Murasaki is the Japanese word for Purple. Oddly enough, google spellcheck doesn't say it's not a word, even though every other Japanese word I've entered it has. **

**Weird.**


End file.
